2013 Belgian Grand Prix

Which F1 driver was the best performer during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend?

Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most during the last race weekend.

Belgian Grand Prix driver-by-driver

Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel – Vettel held the whip hand during practice, even though a puncture cost him some running in second practice. Hamilton pipped him to pole in the wet Q3 but judicious use of KERS at the start and a committed run through Eau Rouge gave Vettel an irresistible run on the Mercedes to take the lead. After that he has never headed.

Mark Webber – Close to Vettel on pace all weekend but was a tenth off in qualifying and made another of his poor starts. Sixth by lap two, he passed Button but was unable to crack the two Mercedes.

Ferrari

Fernando Alonso – Ferrari had clearly made gains this weekend and in the dry part of Q2 Alonso was just a few hundredths of a second off the fastest time. But then the rain came and he ended up ninth on the grid. A typically strong start got him past both Lotuses and – importantly – Webber’s Red Bull. Button and Rosberg were easily dispensed with in the DRS zone and he out-braked Hamilton for second at La Source. Even if he’d qualified better it’s hard to see how he could have finished higher.

Felipe Massa – Also started well but had to run wide to avoid contact at the first corner, losing positions to Hulkenberg and Perez. He was hampered by a KERS glitch in the early running but the Grosjean/Perez incident effectively handed him two places. An early first pit stop also helped him move back up the order, though not as effectively as Alonso was able to.

McLaren

Jenson Button – Arrived at Spa believing a podium was possible and left in a similar frame of mind. He reached the top ten in the dry conditions of Q2, then when the rain came in Q3 he produced a lap good enough to beat the Lotuses and Ferraris. Had McLaren extended his first stint to allow him to complete the race with a single stop it’s possible he might have finished higher than sixth, though third may have been too optimistic all along.

Sergio Perez – Had he left the pits a few seconds earlier in Q2 he would probably have reached Q3. Perez gained two places at the start but spoiled a pass on Grosjean by needlessly squeezing the Lotus driver, earning himself a penalty. He was clearly unhappy with the stewards’ decision during the race, but afterwards said “I now understand where the penalty came from”. McLaren converted him to a one-stopper but Ricciardo edged him out of the top ten with four laps to go.

Lotus

Kimi Raikkonen – Both Lotuses performed less well when the rain fell during qualifying and neither of them made good starts to the race. Raikkonen got ahead of Grosjean on the second lap but a visor tear-off had got into his left-front brake duct, causing the disc to overheat. It was removed at his pit stop but the brake was already too far gone and it eventually put him out, ending a 27-race scoring streak and leaving him 63 points behind Vettel in the championship.

Romain Grosjean – Out-qualified Raikkonen for the third time in four races but lost ground in the race when Perez forced him wide, allowing Massa through. Ran a one-stop strategy in an attempt to gain ground, and did jump ahead of the Ferrari, but was re-passed late in the race.

Mercedes

Nico Rosberg – If Rosberg had had enough time in Q3 to set another lap, as Hamilton did, it’s likely he would have challenged for pole position as he was flying in the damp conditions. His race was more subdued, finishing fourth.

Lewis Hamilton – Hamilton’s claims his fourth pole in a row was a “surprise” does not seem that unreasonable considering he was outside the top ten in all three practice sessions and only scraped into Q3 by a few hundredths of a second. Fell victim to Vettel at the start but might have made Alonso work a bit harder for second place.

Sauber

Nico Hulkenberg – Not for the first time this year Hulkenberg found himself eliminated in Q2 by a slender margin. Continuing a running theme of his season he began and ended the race unhappy with his tyre degradation, and was out of the points.

Esteban Gutierrez – Gutierrez showed clear signs of improvement but wasn’t able to capitalise on them. He was caught out in Q1 for the seventh time this year and started on the back row. His race pace looked at least a match for his team mate’s and might have beaten him had he not collected a drive-through penalty for going off the track while passing Maldonado.

Force India

Paul di Resta – After spinning in Q1 Di Resta almost pulled off a shock in Q3 by playing a tactical blinder. He left the other nine drivers to try in vain to set a time on a wet track using slick tyres, then left the pits on intermediates and had the track to himself. However the Mercedes and Red Bull drivers were able to beat his effort, leaving him fifth. despite a poor start with a lot of wheelspin he only fell as far as seventh. His first pit stop dropped him behind Massa and he then fell victim to Maldonado’s carelessness.

Adrian Sutil – While Maldonado took his team mate out and Gutierrez took care of himself with a drive-through penalty, Sutil was there to pick up the pieces. He didn’t qualify that well and made a poor start, but even so it’s doubtful he would have finished much higher than eighth.

Williams

Pastor Maldonado – Was one of several drivers to be caught out by the Marussias and Caterhams using slick tyres in Q1. Maldonado felt Williams committed to intermediate tyres too soon, leaving him 17th on the grid. He was coming to the end of his second stint on lap 27 when Gutierrez tried to pass him, followed by the two Force Indias. As Maldonado tried to make for the pits he clipped Sutil, then took out Di Resta entirely, earning himself a stop-go penalty.

Valtteri Bottas – Started behind Gutierrez and the two Toro Rossos and finished there. “We were struggling for pace in sector two and this made it difficult to get close to the cars in front and once I had been overtaken it was very difficult to regain the place,” he said.

Toro Rosso

Jean-Eric Vergne – Another driver who looked quick early on in qualifying but missed the cut in Q1. “It was just a team mistake,” he said afterwards. “These things shouldn?óÔé¼Ôäót happen, but everyone gets it wrong now and again. It is very frustrating.” Made patient progress on race day and felt he could have finished higher but for a slow puncture during his final stint.

Daniel Ricciardo – Also got caught out during Q1. Ricciardo fought back by running long in his first stint on hard tyres then pushing during the final two on mediums. In his last stint he passed his team mate, Hulkenberg and Perez to claim the final point from 19th on the grid.

Caterham

Charles Pic – Unlike his team mate he did not use slick tyres for his final run in Q1 and the difference between them at the end was stark: Van der Garde was almost seven seconds quicker. Bad luck struck again in the race when his engine failed early on.

Giedo van der Garde – After the high of finishing Q1 third thanks to his slick tyre gamble he lined up 14th on the grid. Within five laps he was down to 19th, unable to mount any realistic opposition to the faster cars he’d jumped ahead of in qualifying. Maldonado’s penalty helped him to 16th.

Marussia

Jules Bianchi – Both Marussias reached Q2 thanks to their slick tyre gamble but once again they did not look like beating the Caterhams on merit. Radio problems hampered his race but he was generally quicker than Chilton.

Max Chilton – As usual he wasn’t miles off Bianchi’s pace but never really looked like beating him either – particularly after he collected a drive-through penalty for failing to respond to blue flags.

190 comments on Vote for your 2013 Belgian GP driver of the weekend

Max Chilton himself. No really he did well. I voted for Nando though, to bring him at par with Vettel at 38%. He was superb and deserved a win. Hope he wins in Monza and a few after that. And that’s coming from a Vettel fan, honest.

For the third time in a row, Lewis beat Vettel in a straight quali fight. But obviously in the race Vettel streaked clear while Lewis extracted the maximum for 3rd. I can’t give it to Alonso because he monumentally fluffed his qualifying. Button did an excellent job in both quali and race for McLaren.

I voted Lewis because the weekend encompasses qualifying, where he beat Vettel, again. Their races were both fairly on par.

I disagree entirely – Vettel finished a country mile ahead of his teammate and Hamilton only 2/3 in front of his. Qualifying really was a small part of this weekend as Mercedes had a wetter set-up more accustomed to the conditions in qualifying hence why he was so fast in the middle sector.

@vettel1 Gap between finishing positions isn’t always the best way to show how well a driver performed though. Webber had to contend with other drivers while Vettel had nobody to deal with after lap one. So it’s hardly a conclusive factor.

@jonathanproc not always, but I think in this case it highlights just how well Vettel did – both sets of drivers started in very close proximity yet one finished 33.8s ahead and the other 2.1s; I really think the gap was big enough to express just how dominant Vettel was in the race.

So for me it really is not justification to say “oh but Hamilton was a tenth faster in qualifying”.

@hamilfan starting an F1 car is actually rather difficult and undoubtably some do it better than others. Alonso is very good at it, Massa is good and Vettel is also good. It’s not unreasonable to assume that Webber just can’t get the knack.

Gap between finishing positions isnâ€™t always the best way to show how well a driver performed

I’m sorry, I simply don’t agree. He wasn’t as quick even when he’d just pitted for new tyres and was in clean air. He just couldn’t keep with Vettel’s pace – I highly doubt he lost 30 seconds to traffic. The fact he couldn’t keep with Rosberg consistently is pretty much a conformation that he just wasn’t as quick.

@vettel1 You don’t agree? So do you think the gap between finishing positions is always the best way to show how well a driver performed?

As soon as your held up for even a small amount of laps your race is compromised. What I’m saying is that the gap is that size because Vettel performed well and Webber was below average. Not because Vettel was amazingly fast.

@jonathanproc I don’t see your point in pointing that out. I know he did, hence why many people I think have (justifiably) voted him DOTW. However, I didn’t because I don’t think his result was maximised and you have to bear in mind Perez’s (I think slightly unfair) penalty.

@jonathanproc sorry, I wasn’t intending to say that, what I meant was that yes absolutely big gaps to your teammate aren’t always a good indication but they are sometimes.

Yes, Vettel did very well with his package and Webber not so much. I want proclaiming it to be a Donnington 1993 but you certainly have a very strong argument for saying Vettel had the best race pace relative to his car’s ultimate performance capabilities.

@hamilfan no, I think he can since usually at the front he’s beside good starters ;)

Your original post says “Vettel finished a country mile ahead of his teammate and Hamilton only 2/3 in front of his. ”

Consider this – Maybe Hamilton and Rosberg both got the most (or near enough the most) out of their car. Therefor the gap is almost equal because one driver cannot get more out of the car than the car gives them.
In Red Bull’s case only Vettel got the most out of his car so it appears that he performed a lot better when, in reality, he may not have.

@jonathanproc that’s possible, but in that case I’d simply have to say that the way in which Vettel dominated out front merited driver of the weekend then, since nobody has led every lap of a race before Spa.

Outperforming one’s teammate significantly is usually a factor taken into consideration. That’s part of why Alonso has been so highly rated since 2010. Button also beat Perez easily (and is 3rd in the poll), but most would consider Webber and Vettel a better driver pairing than Perez and Button.

You’re right that the gap doesn’t tell the performance as frontrunners tend to coast during the last part of the race if there is no chance of passing the guy in front. However there was a small twist during the last few laps with some chance of rain so Vettel was told to build more gap to Alonso so he can take it easier if there are dump parts of the track.

@tomnokoe it’s hard to use qualifying as an argument considering the conditions they run. Had it been dry, it’d have been a very different story.

Judging by your comment, had miracle happened, Paul di Resta would’ve been driver of the weekend by a long way.

For me, Vettel deserves Driver of the Weekend. Hami enjoyed his pole for seconds. By the time they returned to the main straight on lap 1, the gap was already 2 seconds, way off DRS zone. What a way to dominate….

Yes Vettel dominated the race, as he was supposed to! Vettel should have been on pole, again, and he wasn’t. Hamilton beat him in quali, again, for the third time in a row, with cars very equally matched. They both extracted the maximum from their cars in the race, and Hamilton extracted that extra tenth in quali.

The Merc has been a quali beast all year, but since Germany the RB have been more than a match for them. Vettel fluffed his first sector in Germany by locking up into T3 and couldn’t string a pole-worthy lap together in Hungary.

@tomnokoe – I would still say that Mercedes have the fastest qualifying car. And the fact that Hamilton made that mistake through Eau Rouge to let Vettel past, faded in the rest of the race to be 27s off the winner, and only 2s in front of Rosberg really costs him any possible DOTW.

Vettel should’ve been on pole, just like he should’ve in Germany and Hungary, but he admitted he was too cautious. Quali is a small part of the weekend (and why would I include FP they have no competitive value) but Hamilton pulled it out of the bag vs Vettel. Anyone considering Fernando for driver of the weekend is a little confused. Driver of the race? Most definitely, of the weekend…. I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean to spin in Q3.

@tomnokoe as somebody already told you, but you say WEEKEND (you wrote it in capital letters) yet you seem to forget Vet’s dominance in practice and in the race. and if you want to say that Vettel did it just because he had clear air, then you should give your vote to Alonso, who passed many cars, including Hamilton, or to Ricciardo. And of course pole is important in Hungary, but not so much in Spa.

@tomnokoe When track conditions are going from wet to dry (as it was at the end of Q3), the driver behind is generally favoured, so it was no surprise that Hamilton got pole, once he was able to cross the chequered flag at the right time to give himself a third shot at it.
In the race, he lost two places due to two errors. On lap1, he missed the apex of the uphill right-hander in the Eau Rouge, and took too much kerb through Raidillon. Due to this, he became a sitting duck to Vettel, who made judicious use of KERS to pass Hamilton. He lost second because of another mistake..he ran slightly wide at La Source, and Alonso took full advantage.
I do not see how he was the Driver Of the Weekend..anyway, he finished only a couple of seconds ahead of Rosberg, who, in mind, impressed more than Hamilton than qualifying because he was the only driver to get close to di Resta’s time when the rain was falling harder. Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough time for a third lap, but Hamilton did..
There was hardly anything to separate the Merc duo at Spa..

1. He was last over the line by a matter of meters. Vettel admitted he was too cautious
2. Yes his run through Each Rouge was woeful
3. He let Alonso through at La Source to get DRS, but the Ferrari was as fast without DRS as the Mercedes with.

and what is this garbage about the gap between him and Rosberg? He finished ahead of him. Hamilton had nothing to gain as Alonso was comfortably in front. Rosberg said he was doing everything to catch Hamilton, and he couldn’t. We don’t know if Hamilton was protecting the car or coasting slightly, but regardless, Rosberg certainly wasn’t, and couldn’t catch him. Rosberg is a much stronger team mate than Webber or Massa. Webber had one of his famous starts too, which consigned him to a race amongst traffic.

It really surprises me how informed the Hamilton’s fan are. To say that Hamilton was coasting and Rosberg was trying very hard to catch him but couldn’t means you must have talked to both drivers and know the facts first hand. Everyone has to admit that after the slowish start Hamilton showed what he’s capable of but people should be more objective in their views. To Rosberg supporter the situation would’ve looked as Rosberg wasn’t allowed to race Hamilton.

I’m a big Lewis fan, but I can’t give him much credit for this weekend. He didn’t show up in any of the practices (maybe the team was working on something???), and he ran a poor race. As Keith noted, he didn’t even slow Alonso down as he went by.
It was obvious that the Merc guys were more setup for a wet weekend, but it still looked like a lackluster weekend for Lewis. He ran a great qualifying lap in Q3 which was fun to see, but I’ve always thought Lewis was probably the fastest guy on the grid for 1 lap and he had a better setup for the wet conditions so that didn’t really prove much to me.

Are some people suggesting Lewis should have finished higher up? And by letting Alonso through at La Source, he gave him way more of a fight than he would have had he allowed Alonso to get DRS. He finished the highest he could, as did Vettel, as did Alonso, but the fact is he smoked them in quali

@tomnokoe not necessarily; the argument is that he wasn’t exactly massively impressive in the race by finishing only 2 seconds ahead of Rosberg. Whereas Vettel finished 33 seconds ahead of Webber and Alonso 37 seconds ahead of Massa.

@tomnokoe Massa for sure, Webber there’s some debate over though. Maybe not this season, but remember both have been ranked on this site between the 5th and 10th best drivers, so there certainly doesn’t appear to be that big a gap between them.

@vettel1 this race Rosberg > Webber for sure, he managed to keep the RB behind him for a very long time, and even with the tiny rear wing and DRS, Webber couldnt pass the “wet setup” mercedes. On the front, Alonso and Vettel had great races, but Vettel is the DOTW for sure.

@tomnokoe disagree with you there, Vettel dominated the entire weekend and Hamilton said himself he wouldn’t have got pole position in the dry. Nobody was able to hold a candle to him in dry conditions all weekend. And this is coming from somebody who doesn’t like him!

For the third time in a row, Lewis beat Vettel in a straight quali fight.

But for the second time in those same 3 weekends, Vettel overtook Hamilton within the first lap. Both times before the end of the first sector. Once into a tight corner, the other on a long straight.

Yes, it’s Driver of the Weekend. Therefore the race on Sunday must also be included, and Hamilton fluffed that up not just to Vettel, but to Alonso aswell.. Both on a part of the track where Mercedes should have prioritised as their main strength.

I voted Alonso, for the reasons Keith explained in the article. He was quick in Q2, quick in the race, and only outpaced by Seb. I’d love to see Alonso and Vettell fight it out. Monza anyone?

@keeleyobsessed I personally didn’t vote for Alonso as he did make an error in qualifying although ultimately it was inconsequential anyway, so I think it’s fair to vote him driver of the weekend (I wouldn’t say Hamilton though was driver of the weekend by any means!).

Monza might result in fairly equal cars I think – it plays to Ferrari’s strengths but having seen the Canadian and Belgian Grand Prix I doubt Red Bull will languish far behind (as I expected at the start of the season). It could potentially be very interesting indeed!

Both Alonso and Raikkonen were very impressive but my DOTW is Giedo van der Garde. He used every opportunity, was never threatened by any of the other backmarkers and managed to keep Maldonado behind him in the closing stages of the race. It’s a pity that it still wasn’t enough for Caterham to move ahead of Marussia in the Constructors’ Championship standings but, if the Dutchman keeps delivering similar performances, then there will be no reason to call him a pay driver anymore.

Alonso is also a pay driver as Santander allows Ferrari to hire such an expense driver. Only difference is vd Garde is paid by McGregor and Alonso is also paid by European taks payers who kept the Spanish banks alive..I am not a vd Garde fan. But I looked at his stats – he was karing worldchampion, 2nd at Masters ,WSR champ. Not Lucky in GP2 but I think this 4-5 GP wins..he’s pretty good

Vettel drove superbly, and did nothing wrong. However, Fernando Alonso gets my vote for yet again pulling off a terrific come from behind 2nd, from 9th on the grid.

Lewis is my guy, but in my view, he is far and away the most complete driver in Formula 1, in terms of overall speed, tyre and fuel management, and ability to think and work out others strategies in the race, whilst doing 190mph.

I don’t know, in the context of why you’ve rated him so highly it would imply he wasn’t the most complete @tophercheese21. His bad qualifying (spinning causing him to miss a flying lap) is what forced him into having to gain so many places, so in that sense he definitely wasn’t the most complete driver this weekend, Vettel was (for being good in qualifying and the race).

@tophercheese21 no, you haven’t understood my argument. Obviously Alonso is going to say Red Bull were out of reach – that’s a bit like a politician saying his policies are better. So saying “even Alonso admitted this” is pretty much stating the obvious!

I agree with you that Alonso saying Redbull was untouchable does nt make a difference(most of the drivers would say that if they dint win).. though I think it is fair to say Redbull were the quickest in the race and well done to Vettel for making the most of it and helping himself with another impressive 25 points and a big step towards his 4th straight title… I thought Vettel, Alonso and Ricciardio were the standout drivers and I voted for Alonso …. there was nothing to choose between Alonso and Vettel in my opinion and I went for Alonso’s drive from 9th to 2nd and I would nt disagree with anyone who voted for Vettel either…

Voted for Vettel, although it wasn’t an easy choice. Alonso & Ricciardo made brilliant recovery in the race, and Button & Van der Garde both drove great weekend overall. But still, the most dominant victory of the season deserves my vote.

Hamilton had a solid weekend, all things considered. On Sky F1, Crofty and Brundle had effectively ruled him out of contention for a fourth successive Pole Position by the end of Q2, but he still managed it, nevertheless. Yes, it was largely down to perfect timing — last man across the line, and all that — but he still had only that one shot to string it all together, and his second sector was simply sublime (his first and third, less so, it must be said). It was a brilliantly oppurtunistic Pole that he managed despite his woes in Free Practice. His race was decent as well; he racked up some valuable points, and pretty much had the measure of his team mate on race pace. It certainly wasn’t “Driver of the Weekend” stuff, though.

Other honourable mentions: Fernando for absolutely maxing out the potential of that Ferrari to grab second after starting ninth; Jenson for a great qualifying, and nearly nabbing a podium in that dog of a McLaren; Gutierrez (yes, him) for some impressive qualifying laps in the mixed conditions that, were it not for some bad timing, surely would have seen him out qualify and perhaps even out race his much lauded team mate.

But, it’s Vettel that’s getting my vote. I’m not a fan of the guy (I might be in some capacity, if he would stop with some of his irritatingly showy winning shenanigans: the infamous ‘finger’ and stroking of his Red Bull make me cringe), but there’s no denying the lad’s talent. Webber’s clearly not in his best form at the moment, but he’s still no slouch, and yet Vettel’s making him look like Gutierrez often does alongside Hulkenberg. His race pace was utterly imperious yesterday. He won that one at a canter. The other teams really do need to shift it up a gear, because he’s just unstoppable at the moment.

It’s symptomatic of the same showmanship that his finger routine is. It’s just as irritating. Perhaps I’m biased, but I much prefer others’ ways of showing affection for their cars (like Lewis’ patting the sides of his as he’s on his way out). Ways that seem less…’for the cameras’ than Vettel’s.

Vettel. Never put a foot wrong the entire weekend. No mistakes, a quick, crucial overtake on Hamilton, which was not an easy feat, as was proven later by Webber who was unable to overtake Rosberg despite having softer tyres.
It wasn’t a spectacular win, but it was a commanding, flawless one. Vettel couldn’t have done it better. Wins like that aren’t remembered for years to come; wins like that win championships. Bravo. Driver of the Weekend.

I’m a massive Hamilton fan an pretty much always vote him DOTW however, this time round without hesitation I voted Vettel. He was excellent throughout the weekend, was only outdone by Hamilton in qualifying which given Mercs qualifying prowess is no shame and come race day was pretty much perfect. The title is nearly his baring an assualt from Hamilton who i believe is the only driver/car package capable of taking the fight to Vettel. Also it must be noted that the RBR has also dominated on the one previous low downforce race which was Canada.

Alonso was very good in the race but poor like usual in qualifying. He needs to stop blaming the car and accept he can do more in qualifying. He may think that because he out qualified Massa, he done the maximum; but believe me, Massa is not benchmark regarding performance. He spun in qualifying which almost certainly prevented him being the last man over the line and getting the crucial final lap in as he was behind Hamilton during his spin.

The title is nearly his baring an assualt from Hamilton who i believe is the only driver/car package capable of taking the fight to Vettel.

I would have agreed with you before the race, but now I’m not so sure. Lotus don’t seem quite quick enough consistently enough so I think it’s fair to discount RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen realistically but Alonso could be a threat if the renewed vigour in the race of the F138 in Belgium if anything to go by.

If they stop messing up qualifying (I say “they” because I think both Alonso isn’t getting the best from the car and Ferrari aren’t getting the best from the car for qualifying) and so start within striking distance of Red Bull I think they are actually looking the main challengers, although it may very well have just been a case of Spa’s characteristics playing to Ferrari’s strengths.

I guess Korea will decide things – the traditional starting point of Red Bull’s dominance!

Voted Vettel. He missed pole by a slender margin, was untouchable in the race. Another missed Grand Chelem.
Contender Alonso may have had a good, opportunistic race from 9 to 2 but starting from there in the first place is not DotW stuff. Vettel clearly wins this one.

Some people are always trying to downplay Alonso’s terrific performances in races, maybe i was watching another race but were is the opportunism that you are talking about , Alonso overtook all the drivers in front of him maybe Vettel was the DOTW as a whole package (qualy + race) but Alonso’s performance in the race was absolutely terrific
BTW how many times did you see Vettel a having a good race from 9 to 2 and don’t tell me spa 2012 because half the grid was taking out by Grosjean or Abu Dhabi 2012 with a car set up for the race having the 4th top speed on that race + 2 safety car + some cars taking out by Webber

@tifoso1989 I don’t think many are – I agree he had a terrific race but a not very good qualifying.

or Abu Dhabi 2012 with a car set up for the race having the 4th top speed on that race + 2 safety car + some cars taking out by Webber

Ehm well it’s quite evident I think that Ferrari generally set their cars up for battling through traffic anyway i.e high top speed and good tyre-saving set-ups so I don’t really think they differ all that much in that respect if I’m honest. Yes the safety cars did help him also, but one of them actually hurt him (hit Ricciardo as a result of one warming brakes and the other tyre) which actually cost him time.

Also, Webber taking out cars? Laughable. That was absolutely in no way Webber’s fault, hence why he didn’t get a penalty. He was just unfortunate to get caught up in it. It was wholly Perez’s fault hence why he received a 10 second stop-go penalty; a pretty severe penalty.

Red Bull are not on Flavio Briatore’s level and I think it is absolutely ludicrous to propose they are. Besides, I’m pretty sure Vettel was ahead of Webber by that point so the gain was minimal (one place).

To be fair Vettel is hardly ever in a grid slot where he needs to gain 5+ places in the race so it’s not really a fair comparison. I voted Vettel for DOTW, couldn’t see any other driver who had great qualifying and race (maybe Button but his performance/result wasn’t spectacular, just good) – Hamilton good qualy but couldn’t do much in the race, Alonso great race but not a good qualy.

@Tifoso1989
You’re right, opportunistic wasn’t the right word here! I wanted to express that Alonso achieved the best result he could under those circumstances. Opportunism does have a negative connotation, and there was nothing morally wrong with his drive, so I apologize, that was clearly the wrong wording!

And yeah, I can’t remember a race where Vettel battled as well as Alonso from ninth. He never really had to. But I’m sure we will see him more often in those positions and then we’ll be able to compare his performances to Alonso’s achievements.
However it doesn’t really matter for this DotW poll. Vettel was clearly the best package on this race weekend.

@rez0 I have a sneaking suspicion he’ll have to next year somehow. It probably won’t be exactly the same as Alonso has always been a bit slower in qualifying but much faster in the race (and so has his car) which isn’t the same of Red Bull but my suspicion is that they won’t be front row contenders…

@debeluhi he got the job done quickly, I’ll give him that (as did Vettel). I agree though – most of the work was done at the start where we know the Ferrari is particularly strong and then it’s massive top speed made for fairly comfortable DRS passes. It wasn’t exactly a miracle he managed to overtake 7 cars.

Besides, the reason I wouldn’t rate him DOTW (and why I’m particularly shocked he’s leading the standings) is that he spun in qualifying, hence giving him no shot at a qualifying lap in the prime conditions. His race performance wasn’t that much more impressive than Vettel’s to negate that mistake.

Vettel’s win was so dominant, but still it wasn’t an easy vote like Germany. Alonso’s surge from 9th to 2nd was really laudable, so were drives of Jensen and the unfortunate Kimi. If Kimi had finished in the same style he was racing my vote would have been his (oh well I am a bit biased there) but in the end Vettel got it.

Also picked van der Garde for the same reason. Vettel, Alonso and Button were in contention for my vote, but although they all had good weekends there was a little bit missing for perfection, and Giedo came closer to it.